Sex, Lies, Gossip and the Male Mind
by Bichonmom
Summary: Harriet realizes she made a mistake


Title: Sex, Lies, Gossip, and the Male mind  
  
Genre: Filler/Missing Scene BUT it's a missing scene to a fanfic.  
  
Rating: PG just to be safe  
  
Summary: This is a missing scene from Catmom's Breaking Boughs series and if you haven't read that this probably won't make a lot of sense. The rest of the series can be found at: (It is an archive for members only group but well worth it in MHO.)  
  
The premise of this is Harriet was also a witness to the fight in the bullpen and realizes she had been an idiot and missed being a part of her Harm and Mac's wedding because she thought Harm fathered Singer's child. (In Catmom's universe the baby was born premature and both he and Loren are still alive). Sergei isn't the father, Harm's old roommate from the Patrick Henry is Tuna/Terry.  
  
A/N: Thanks Catmom for letting me play in your sandbox! I plan on getting back to Trish's plot to get grandkids now. My baseball bat wielding muse just wouldn't leave alone until I finished this!  
JAG Bullpen  
  
Immediately after Terry and Lauren's fight   
Did I just hear what I think I just heard? This Lieutenant Commander friend of Commander Rabb's is Guy's father? I thought the Commander was Guy's father. At least I thought he thought he was.  
  
Bud and I don't talk about the Colonel and the Commander much anymore. Bud was very quick to forgive Commander Rabb and very supportive when the Colonel and the Commander decided to get married. I was of the opinion that the Colonel was just asking to get hurt again. She got hurt when the Commander left to go flying. She started rebuilding her life and then building a life with Mic when Harm crashed into the Atlantic. She was so upset when Mic left her to return to Australia, I just hated seeing her like that and wanted to try and help prevent it. As a result I ended up missing the Commander and Colonel's wedding.  
  
I'd assumed that day when Lauren went into labor that the Commander was either the father or thought he was. Why else would he tell the ambulance crew he was the father? It made me so angry when the Admiral and the senior staff seemed so ready to ignore what he'd admitted to. I mean the Admiral sent Commander Manetti to the Seahawk and the Colonel not only came back for the Commander she started spending time with the baby! No one forgives me that easily when I screw up. Why are they so willing to forgive him?  
  
Now it looks like all my anger was based on some faulty assumptions on my part and I need to rethink my opinion of the Commander. Why would a man say he's the father of a baby if he didn't have reason to at least think he was? Maybe I can ask Bud.  
Bud's Office   
"Bud did you know that the Commander isn't Guy's father?" I say as I close the door behind me.  
  
"I've been telling you that for weeks."  
  
"No, I mean I heard Singer tell one of Commander Rabb's friends that he's the father." I say, thinking Bud is still just showing that male solidarity thing I've accused him of before when we're talking about this.  
  
"I know he's not but until now I thought Sergei was Guy's father. Are you sure about what Lauren said?"  
  
"I'm sure I heard Lauren tell this Lieutenant Commander that he's Guy's father." The Commander thought Guy was his nephew? Oh my! What have I done?  
  
"Harriet are you okay?"  
  
"Not really, I just realized I hurt one of my closest friends and missed being involved in her wedding because I believed something that wasn't even true! Why did he say it if it wasn't true?"  
  
"My guess is he panicked. He probably thought they wouldn't let him be there if he wasn't the dad and he wanted to be there for what he believed to be his niece or nephew. Why were you so insistent on believing him to be guilty? The Colonel and I both figure out that he was protecting someone without even any clues. We just had to think about what kind of man he was. We both tried to tell you he wasn't guilty but you were too busy being mad at him to listen. As much as I'd like to stay and discuss this with you I have to be in court in 10 minutes so I need to leave. We can talk about this some more at home if you'd like."  
  
With that Bud gives me a kiss on the cheek and leaves closing the door behind him. I take a minute to compose myself and then wander back out to my desk where I'm supposed to be.  
  
I sit at my desk trying to look like I'm working. I can't work though I'm too busy thinking about what I've done. I've been a total witch to the Commander for weeks, no months really. Not only that, I was so sure the Commander was guilty that I placed a call to the Colonel on the Seahawk to tell her he had a relationship with a junior officer. I thought I was protecting a friend, but I must have hurt her terribly. I work with lawyers. Lawyers believe a person is innocent until proven guilty and what to I do? I convicted Commander Rabb without ever hearing all the evidence. I'm not sure I even listened to any evidence I might have convicted him on gossip more than anything else. I've deprived my son of his godparents and myself of two of my closest friends. I have some very serious, very difficult apologies to make.  
One hour later Mac's Office in the Judge's area of JAG Headquarters.  
"Ma'am, do you have a minute?"  
  
"Not really Lieutenant." Colonel MacKenzie, I mean Rabb, says in the tone she uses with any junior officer she's not familiar with. I've got some serious apologizing to do.  
  
"Please, ma'am I just need a couple of minutes to apologize."  
  
Now she is looking rather intently at me. "Apologize for what Harriet?"  
  
"For being so convinced that Commander Rabb either was Guy's father or had reason to think he was, that I shut you two out of my life and to a certain extent AJ's life. I mean, I didn't come to your engagement party or your wedding and I treated you like you had a screw lose because you were marrying the man you love!"  
  
"Do you now know better? Harm never had a romantic or sexual relationship with Lieutenant Singer."  
  
"Yes ma'am. I know. I heard Singer and Commander Rabb's pilot friend get into that fight in the bullpen and then I talked to Bud. Actually that's not accurate. Then I finally listened to what Bud's been trying to tell me for a couple of months."  
  
"Just out of curiosity, why were you so set on believing it?"  
"I'm not entirely sure. I think part of it was I couldn't believe he would claim to be the father if he didn't have reason to at least think he might be. It never occurred to me that he might be trying to protect someone else. Also I think part of it was that he seemed to be forgiven without any explanation being given that I could see. I think at least part of the reason was that everyone knows so little about Singer that it seemed like the most logical explanation. I didn't even think about someone having a one night stand in this day and age."  
  
"Just shows you what people will do when they have too much alcohol in their systems. Do you get why he did what he did and why he was forgiven so quickly?"  
  
"Yes, now the question is can you forgive me."  
  
"Oh, Harriet, you've already been forgiven. It's going to take awhile to move on but we will. I'll admit that it did hurt that you didn't come to my wedding, but it helped that you didn't try and keep Bud from bringing AJ. It also bothered me that after as supportive and helpful you were when I was planning to marry Mic that you were so obvious in you disapproval of my marrying Harm. The thing that really bothered me about that was everyone else could see that what Harm and I have is a much stronger base on which to make a life than what Mic and I had."  
  
"I know Ma'am, and I'm very sorry. I think I got caught up in my mothering instincts and trying to protect you."  
  
"Well Harriet I appreciate the desire to protect me but like I tell my husband, I can take care of myself. Now I have some work to do so why don't you get back to work and maybe we can get together this weekend?"  
  
"I'd like that. I'll leave you alone now. I have another apology to make."  
Harm's office immediately shortly after Tuna's departure.  
"Sir, do you have a minute?"  
  
"Sure, Harriet comes on in and have a seat. What can I do for you?" I can't believe he's being so nice about this. Then again that's just the way the Commander is.  
  
"I just came to apologize for the way I've been behaving lately sir." Harm arches his eyebrow at this.  
"And what made you decide you needed to apologize?"  
  
"I overheard the fight in the bullpen and realized I convicted you of having a relationship with Singer without ever hearing all the evidence. I assumed that because you said you were Guy's father you were having a relationship with Lieutenant Singer. That even if you weren't the father, you thought you could possibly be the father."  
  
"I'm not you know."  
  
"I know sir. Now I know. I'm sorry I didn't realize it then. I'm sorry I chose to believe the scuttlebutt. I'm really sorry that I made those assumptions. I'm also sorry I didn't come to the wedding."  
  
"That's okay Harriet. We probably should have told you what was going on but we were trying to respect Loren's privacy."  
  
"I understand sir and I'm not sure I would have listened earlier, I didn't when Bud tried to explain it to me. I just want another chance. I've already apologized to the Colonel and she suggested getting together this weekend. Would the two of you like to come over for dinner Friday night and spend some time with AJ?"  
  
"Let me double check with Mac but sounds like a plan to me. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some things to do before I meet Tuna later."  
  
"I'll get out of your hair sir. Let me know if you need anything."  
  
Thanks Harriet, I'll do that." With that Commander Rabb gets back to work and I head out to my desk feeling much happier at work than I have in months.  
  
~The end~ 


End file.
